My number one goal for our state is to put more Georgians into the workforce and to create an environment of upward financial mobility for those already there.

When our founding fathers came together they did so because there are some things we do better as a whole: educating the public; providing efficient transportation; safeguarding natural resources; and providing safe, healthy communities. Georgia must protect all of these if we are to attract and grow the business and industry that will provide the jobs our citizens must have. If not, our citizens will continue to face a permanent financial crisis.

Georgia’s education system is at the bottom of the rankings, while the percentage of our population in the correctional system is number one in the entire United States. These two rankings are directly related. Our number one goal must be to create a public education system that allows children to graduate at their highest potential. With smaller classrooms and graduation coaches in early grades, by keeping middle grade students engaged with less testing and more technology, and then partnering with Technical and Community Colleges in high school, all the while teaching productive business and lifestyle skills, we will lower the dropout rate, reduce prison populations and raise the number of financially independent citizens.

Failure to reach a consensus left Georgia without a transportation plan for three years. In the 2010 session, a plan was finally reached, and while it addresses many of the transportation issues facing Georgia, it falls short of a comprehensive plan needed to move Georgia into the future. Any transportation plan must make Georgia economically competitive with our surrounding states, which are building their mass transit while we continue to sit in gridlock. The Georgia Department of Transportation (DOT) is not broken; there are solutions. The current administration has reorganized the DOT to the point that the federal government did not even know where to send our stimulus money.

Georgia’s water maps are drawn on politics and not water flow. Before we start costly programs in this economy, we must first consider all options including fixing leaky pipes; maximizing gray water; smart landscaping; installing efficient fixtures; improving and raising existing dams; and metering all use. Georgia must place itself into a position of strength if we are to satisfactorily negotiate a favorable water supply with our neighboring states.

A safe, healthy environment is one of the first requirements of industry. Our public safety departments have been reduced to unsafe numbers. Among all states, Georgia's population is in the bottom ten of the most unhealthy. Much of our mental health is being administered by the Department of Corrections. There are solutions if we work to address the issues that will improve the quality of life for Georgians.

I will provide the leadership needed to make Georgia prosper. I will protect the HOPE scholarship and strengthen education, dedicate the fourth penny of motor fuel tax sales tax for transportation, fight to collect unreturned sales tax, and work to stop the passing of burdens to those in local government. There are solutions to Georgia’s problems, if we put the needs of Georgians first. Georgia is a great state with great people. We have the mountains, the midlands and the coast. All we lack is leadership. Georgians need a voice in their government. I will be that voice.

As the general manager of a small chain of newspapers, my business touches every business, large and small, in nine counties. I see, first hand, the struggles of business owners and their employees. I know it is poor governance and lack of ethical decision making that is holding our state back. There are solutions that will turn our economy around and get people back into Georgia businesses, buying the goods and services that will make our economy thrive.

Tax incentives for small business and for big business, when they give us a true return on our investment, are good, but now tax incentives are the norm both nationally and globally. For Georgia to move our economy forward we must legislate in a way to improve the systems that must be strong for business to grow.

Georgia’s rankings on educational achievement are at the bottom and our dropout rate is excessive. Because of this, the thing we are now becoming known for is being number one in the percentage of our population in the correctional system.  Law enforcement has been reduced to unsafe levels and our population is in the top ten most unhealthy. Business in Georgia is struggling and unemployment is high.

Although we made great strides when we appointed a new Speaker in the House, the lack of ethical leadership in the Lieutenant Governor’s office will continue to hold Georgia’s economy back. New leadership is clearly needed for Georgia.